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4 years ago

DNA Makes Handy Flame Retardant

Maciej Frolow/Getty

And you thought getting herring sperm on your pants was a bad thing. Scientists in Italy have found that coating cloth with DNA from fish’s sperm reduces flammability. Eureka! DNA is a flame retardant. DNA’s phosphate-laden backbone gives off phosphoric acid when heated, replacing the water molecules in cotton with a fire-repelling residue. Simultaneously, the bases in DNA let out ammonia. Put those together and you get a coating that isn’t fire-friendly. One drawback: DNA isn’t cheap.